The present invention relates generally to providing electrical power to a mine. Specifically, electrical power captured by a kinetic energy capture system associated with an electric vehicle may charge the onboard battery of the vehicle, which may then be discharged into the mine's power grid.
Subsurface mining operations may consume large amounts of energy. The mine power grid may provide electrical power to many different systems, including but not limited to environmental controls, ore and miner elevators, and mining vehicles. Power costs may be a significant portion of the operating costs of the mine. For mine operations controlled from a subsurface location, transmitting the power from the surface may be inefficient.
An additional factor in providing power to a mine is controlling emissions, which must be evacuated from the mine to maintain a habitable atmosphere. Emissions in the mine may prove expensive to control. For example, mine vehicles may generate emissions. Generating power at a subsurface location may produce unwanted or expensive to control emissions. Mine vehicles may also generate unwanted heat, which may be disadvantageous in an already hot mine.
Systems and methods that can produce inexpensive power in a mine without contributing emissions or heat to the mine environment would provide operational and cost advantages.